Lost memories
by Randomanimelover01
Summary: Mashiro is walking through Karakura town with Hachi when they run in to an old friend of theirs. What happens when they find out that she has both the Soul Society and Aizen after her? KenseixOC. Suggested KenseiXLisa My first story. Suck at summaries.
1. Introduction

Introduction

The girl ran through Soul Society hoping to get away from the lieutenants of the 13 court guard squads. She'd already gotten away from the captains. She could see the execution site up ahead. It happened to be the place where the portal to the living world was supposed to open today.

When she got to the site though, she saw all the captains and lieutenants waiting for her there. The head-captain stepped forward and yelled over the wind to her.

«Give up Maya! You cannot get past us!»

«I've done it before. I made it out of the captains meeting and all the way here with everyone after me. I'll do it again if I have to!»

The captains and lieutenants drew their Zanpakuto. The girl would have grabbed hers but suddenly the gate to the human world opened and, in the time it took them to turn around, she was through the portal and gone. They were about to go after her when the head captain stopped them.

«Leave her. She has escaped, there is no reason to go after her. However, if you are to see her in the world of the living when you go there you have every right to kill her.»

There were a few mumbled words of disappointment from those of squad eleven but no one protested. She had been loved by many after all. No one really wanted to kill her, most still didn't understand why she was being persecuted. Most had been told she had been harboring a dangerous secret, which wasn't entirely false but not the whole truth either. The whole truth was that, she was harboring a secret that the head-captain would do anything to prevent people from knowing because that secret was what exactly happened to the 9 captain and lieutenant ranked officers that suddenly 'died' 100 years ago. He could only hope that se wouldn't tell anyone, not that they would listen to a monster like her. She wasn't even a soul reaper anymore. She had the powers of the enemy at her command and had had them since that night 100 years ago.


	2. Old friends

"Someone go get some food!" Hiyori yelled.

"If you want some so bad go get it yourself!" Shinji yelled back.

"No!"

"Well then you won't get any!"

"Both of you stop it! Mashiro and Hachi left a few minutes ago to get some food." Lisa snapped.

After that everyone fell silent waiting for Mashiro and Hachi to get back with their lunch. Hopefully it would be soon considering the temper Hiyori and Shinji had when they were hungry. They would destroy their little hide-out if it brought them any food.

* * *

Meanwhile Mashiro and Hachi were making their way back to the warehouse when they felt a familiar presence appear in town a little ways from them. They couldn't remember where they had felt the presence before so both decided to just brush it off. Until Mashiro remembered. She gave Hachi her bags and went running in the direction of the spiritual pressure she could now feel clearly.

She heard Hachi calling after her but ignored him. If she was right about the identity of the person then the others wouldn't mind having lunch a little late.

Soon she arrived in front of Kisuke Urahahra's shop. She wondered why the person came her but made her way towards the store anyway. Hachi came up and joined her, though he still didn't recognize the person. They walked in to the store to see Tessai.

"Where is she?" Mashiro asked.

"Where's who?" Tessai asked.

"You know who I'm talking about. Where is she and why is she here?"

Tessai sighed in defeat before looking them both over and giving another huge sigh.

"She's in the back with Kisuke. As for what she's doing here I think she should tell you." Tessai said finally.

Mashiro nodded before making her way to the back with a baffled Hachi. Once they got to the back room where Kisuke was giving her a gigai Hachi suddenly realised who it was. As they walked in the girl sitting on the floor looked up at them and then smiled.

Her black her was pulled up in to a high ponytail and her mismatched sapphire and emerald eyes looked back at her in a friendly way. She was wearing a black skirt with a plain white shirt and she had black belt hanging sideways across her hips. She looked the same as she did 100 years ago at the exception that she was wearing normal human clothes, not the soul reaper uniform.

Hachi's jaw fell open and the girl smiled wider. Finally Hachi managed to get some words out.

"What are you... doing here... Maya?" He asked stunned.

"What does it look like Hachi? I'm getting a gigai." She replied.

"What he meant was why are you here and not in Soul Society?" Mashiro asked.

"Oh that... Head-captain Yamamoto decided to execute me. I got away and now I'm here."

Mashiro and Hachi shared a look. She wasn't telling them the whole truth but they guessed she would in time. The vizards looked back at her before Mashiro asked the question they had both been wondering at.

"Do you, you know, have a hollow in you?"

"Yeah. But don't worry I've got it under control." Maya said.

"That's good to know." Mashiro said softly.

Everyone fell silent for a while. Maya tested out the gigai and asked Hachi to heal some of the more dangerous wounds she had gotten escaping from the Soul Society.

"So Maya, what are you going to do now?" Kisuke asked.

"I don't really know. I have nowhere to stay." Maya replied.

"Oh! She can stay with us can't she Hachi?" Mashiro said excitedly.

"I don't know Mashiro. Don't you think the others would be mad?" Hachi said.

"Of course not! We were all friends!"

"Yes, but she was allowed to stay and we weren't."

"Actually..." Maya began but was cut off my Mashiro.

"Oh, well she can explain that to all of us later. I think everyone will get impatient if we don't get back with lunch soon."

With that she grabbed the lunch bags in one hand and dragged Maya along with the other. Hachi sighed before picking up what was left of the bags and following after Mashiro and Maya. Kisuke followed them out to the front and waved them off before sighing.

"Why do I feel like something bad is going to happen?" He asked himself before closing the door.

* * *

Please review. 


	3. Not so lucky

They were almost to the warehouse when Maya stopped. Mashiro and Hachi turned to look at her. She had her eyes downcast and kept looking back toward Kisuke's shop.

"Is something wrong Maya?" Mashiro asked.

"Well, yes. Maybe Hachi was right. Maybe they are mad at me, and I should stay with Kisuke..."

"That's nonsense. They might be a little mad but they'll get over it. If they don't well to bad!"

Maya gave her a sad smile before looking around. She heaved a sigh before looking back to Mashiro.

"You live in an abandoned warehouse I don't think there is any place for me there." Maya said.

"Sure there is! You're just afraid! Since when is Maya Kuroshiro afraid?" Mashiro asked.

"Since now..."

Suddenly Mashiro lunged at Maya. She grabbed Maya's hand before proceeding to drag her all the way to the warehouse where the others were waiting for their lunch.

When Mashiro came in with Hachi everyone practically pounced on them. They grabbed their share of the food before retreating back to where ever they had been seated before, mostly the couch. They all failed to notice Maya who was hidden behind Hachi. Mashiro turned to look at her.

"What are you hiding for?" She asked loudly.

Everyone looked up from their meal to see her talking to Hachi's back. For a few seconds they thought she had gone insane until they felt a familiar spiritual pressure coming from behind Hachi. Once again though everyone failed to recognize her.

Meanwhile on her end Maya was glaring at Mashiro. No one had noticed her until she had spoken to her, and so loudly on top of that. She peeked out from behind Hachi to see if anyone was looking and of course they all were. She sighed and stepped out from behind Hachi giving a small, shy wave to everyone.

"Hey guys... long time, no see." She murmured.

Shinji was the first person to recognize her. He gave a wide smile before going over to her.

"Hey there Maya! How've you been?" He asked.

At the mention of her name everyone else seemed to recognize her. Which was surprising to her. She hadn't changed at all since they left. They looked happy to see her until something dawned on them. She had been allowed to stay and not them. They suddenly seemed more hostile, even Shinji. She took a step back.

"Get out of here." Shinji said.

"Shinji, at least let me explain." Maya said.

"We don't need any of your explanations." Lisa snapped.

"But... fine."

Maya was about to leave when Mashiro burst out.

"Come on guys! Maybe it was worse for her there then for us here!"

"Look Mashiro, I know you were fond of her. But how could she have possibly had it worse then us? We live in an abandoned warehouse." Kensei said.

"Well, we'll find out if you let her tell us!" Mashiro yelled.

"Fine. We'll hear her out but she leaves right after. She can live with Kisuke." Shinji said.

"Actually I can't. To many Soul Reapers go to see Kisuke these days." Maya said.

They all gave her questioning looks. Why would it matter? After all the Soul Society decided to keep her. She gave a sigh before looking them over in turn. They hadn't changed much.

"I've been sentenced to death by the Soul Society." Maya said. "They got the information they wanted out of me. They don't need me for anything else. So they've decided to get ride of me before anyone figures out you guys aren't actually dead."

"What the heck do you mean?" Shinji yelled.

"I mean that the only reason I was allowed to stay was so they could test me. They wanted information on what we had become. They 'tested' me. Though it was more like torture then anything else. I slept on the floor in a room bathed in blood. I constantly had the smell of rotting flesh in my nose and everyday I suffered constant 'tests' that included painful activities that I won't describe to you here." She said.

Everyone in the room looked at each other. How could they be sure she wasn't lying. She had no scars on her, not even a bruise. Sensing their disbelief she lifted her bangs of the right side of her forehead and there they saw an angry red mark going from her temple to almost the middle of her forehead.

"If that scar isn't enough to prove something to you then maybe this one will."

She turned around and brought the back of her shirt up to show the an angry red scar that ranged from her left shoulder to her right hip. When she turned back to look at them her face showed no emotion.

"Well. We can't say we don't believe you considering those scars. But why didn't you escape sooner?" Love asked.

"I couldn't they sealed away almost all my spiritual pressure and chained me to a wall. The seal broke yesterday so I took the chance to try and escape." She explained.

Shinji turned back to everyone else. He stared at each of them intently for a few seconds.

"So guys, do we believe her and let her join us? It sounds to me like she wasn't so lucky as we believed." He said.

"Why not. Her story sounds plausible." Kensei said.

After that there was a small argument between Shinji and Hiyori but in the end, they decided to let her stay. Maya looked around her bewildered. A few seconds ago they would have ripped her to shreds and now they were swarming around her greeting her and talking like friends who saw each other the day before.

Later that night Shinji was about to show her around when something happened.

"Would you like a tour of the castle, my lady?" He asked with a bow.

She was about to take the hand offered to her when Shinji fell over. Both looked up to find Hiyori holding her slipper in her hand.

"Would you quit it you old perv!" She yelled.

The two started to argue loudly while everyone gathered to see what was going on. She looked around and found that Hachi and Kensei were sitting farther off. She shoved her way through the others, who were trying to break up the fight before it got to bad, and sat down beside them.

"So... am I going to be sleeping on the floor?" She asked.

"That, or you'll have to sleep with someone else." Kensei replied.

"She can stay with me!"Shinji yelled.

Again, he fell face first as Hiyori's slipper collided with the back of his head. Hachi didn't react and Kensei just shook his head. Maya smiled. It had been a long time since she had seen any of them and to be with her old friends now made her happy. She was drawn from her thought when a hand touched her shoulder. She looked up to see Lisa.

"You're welcome to stay with me if you want." She said.

"Thanks."

So after having dinner and saying good night Maya and Lisa made their way to their room. For Maya, it was one of the best rests she had ever had for a long time.


	4. The nightmare

_This chapter is sort of gory. Sorry about that.

* * *

_

_Maya was running through the dark corridors of the 12th division. She could see the light of day up ahead. She picked up the pace. Just as she was about the exit the door slammed closed and a scream echoed in the halls. _

"_H...hiyori?" She whispered._

_Another scream resounded in the halls. This one more masculine then the first one but just as loud and filled with pain._

"_S...shinji?" She whispered again._

_She turned and ran back to the place where the screams came from. She turned a corner and saw an open door. She ran in to it and saw Hiyori, Shinji, Mashiro, Hachi, Love, Rose and Lisa on the floor bleeding. She looked around and saw Mayuri in front of Kensei. She made a move to help Kensei but was restrained by hands holding her feet. She looked down to see her friends holding on to her ankles and melting in to the ground. _

_She turned back to Mayuri and could only watch as he tortured her former captain and best friend. She closed her eyes and when she reopened them Kensei was in the same state as everyone else. She wanted to go over and help him but the walls suddenly started to melt all around her, turning into a masse of red liquid at her feet.

* * *

_

Maya jolted up in bed with a muffled scream. Her waist length hair was loose and fell around her face as she sat there. She hiccuped as she curled into a ball on the mattress that Shinji had brought in for her earlier. She brought her knees up to her chest and buried her face in her arms as she cried.

She stayed like that for a while until she felt the mattress shift under a foreign weight. She looked up from her fetal position to see Lisa looking at her worriedly.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

Maya nodded. Lisa still looked skeptical so Maya wiped her tears off her face and forced a smile at Lisa.

"It was just a bad dream. You can go back to sleep." She said.

Lisa gave her another look before slowly nodding and standing up. She went over to her own mattress, looking back at Maya one more time, before laying down and going back to sleep. After a while of just sitting on her mattress Maya decided to go back to sleep. Though it brought her little rest, images of that nightmare came back to her in her sleep.

* * *

Sorry if the chapters are always changing length. I try keep different events in the story isolated.


	5. Nicknames

The next morning Lisa decided to confront Maya about her nightmare. She stopped her as she was about to follow the others down the stairs to the training room below. Once they were alone Lisa moved away from the little trap door.

"Mind telling me what that was all about last night?" She asked.

"It was nothing... Everyone gets nightmares every once in a while."

Lisa, however reluctant to take that answer, had to accept it. She wasn't all that good with getting people to talk. Either way it was almost certain that she would tell Shinji or Kensei since they were much closer.

Maya turned away from Lisa assuming that the interrogation was over. She climbed down the stairs to the training area only to be stopped by Kensei. Who then proceeded to drag her off farther from the others.

"Mind telling me what Lisa meant by nightmare?"

"It's nothing. Just that I woke up last night from a nightmare."

Lisa suddenly came down the stairs.

"It was more then that. She woke up and started crying. After that she told me she was fine and went back to sleep." Lisa said before making her way over to the others.

Kensei looked at Maya questioningly. Maya sighed before finally deciding that if she was going to tell someone then she might as well tell one of the 2 people she trusted the most.

"I just. I got this vision of you guys, all the vizards, going through what I went through but dying. I guess I'm still a little shaken from my time in the 12th division."

Kensei smiled and ruffled her hair lightly.

"Well, at least you told someone firefly." He said.

Maya grimaced at the old nickname. He'd given her that name because when her power is at it's fullest she harness's the light of the moon and glows in the dark, like a firefly. Also, that is what her zanpakuto's name is. Hotaru or firefly. Sort of a weird name considering its spirit form is a dragon.

Kensei turned to leave but she stopped him.

"Thanks Kensei."

"No problem. You're my friend, it's the least I could do."

She suddenly took off running and, halfway to the rest of the vizards, stopped and turned to look at him grinning.

"You coming Ken-chan?" She yelled.

Kensei's eye twitched comically for a few seconds before he took off after her yelling profanities. He really hated that name. It made it sound like she was talking to Kenpachi Zaraki not him. Before he could get to her she hid behind Shinji saying something around the lines of: "Save me! The big bad Ken-chan is coming!" At this everyone burst out laughing.


	6. Training

Once the other vizards got Kensei to calm down and leave Maya alone they all paired up to train, except Hachi. The groups went like this: Kensei with Shinji, Rose with Love, Lisa with Mashiro and Hiyori with Maya. Each group chose a spot in the training grounds and started sparring.

Hiyori went to kick Maya in the face but she grabbed her feet in her hand and swipped at her with her zanpakuto. Hiyori launched herself backwards to avoid the blow and then jumped back forward with her sword ready to strike. Maya blocked with her own sword and sent Hiyori flying backwards. They're swords clashed a few more times before Maya sent a ball of kido towards Hiyori. Hiyori dodged and looked back at Maya stunned.

"No incantation?" She asked.

"Nope.

By this time everyone had stopped they're fights to watch. Hiyori slashed at Maya's face but she dodged and tried to kick Hiyori's legs out from under her. They continued like this for another 10 mintues before Hiyori got impatient and put on her mask.

"Now things get interesting." Rose said.

"Let's just hope Hiyori doesn't kill her." Love said.

"You two should have more faith. She's stronger then you think." Kensei said.

Hiyori launched herself at Maya but she sidestepped her and put her own mask on. It had the shape of an upside down triangle except that the two tips on top turned into horns that curled around her face. The teeth of the mask showed a lot and the eye holes were rectangular. The masks only markings were jagged lines that were placed over the eyes and extended onto the horns.

Hiyori smirked under her mask. Things just got very interesting. She launched herself at Maya with new power. Maya dodged the blow and as Hiyori zipped past her she took the opportunity to try to hit her back. Hiyori lost her balance from the hit and landed in a heap on a rock farther off. She got up angrily and was about to use a cero when Shinji stepped in.

"I think that's enough for today. Hiyori, it's your turn to go get lunch." He said.

Hiyori took off her mask and went to go change clothes in her room. Everyone else filled out of the training area and went in different directions. Maya went up to her room, changed clothes and then made her way over to Hiyori's room. She knocked on the door then entered.

* * *

Sorry if the chapters are kind of short.


	7. Misunderstanding

Note: Anything written like '_this'_ is Maya talking to her zanpakuto.

* * *

After knocking, Maya went straight in to Hiyori's room. She was sitting on her mattress pulling some shoes on. She looked up as Maya came in.

"You know I didn't mean to embarrass you when we fought." Maya said.

"I know. I just get worked up sometimes. You want to come with me?"

"Sure."

After that Hiyori got up and both made their way to the door. When they got to the main entrance however, they found Lisa and Kensei. Lisa was, very literally, all over Kensei. Hiyori made a face but Maya flinched, grabbed Hiyori and went running out.

* * *

Meanwhile with Kensei and Lisa. Kensei grabbed Lisa's shoulders and threw her off of him.

"Damn it Lisa! I told you to stop doing that!" He yelled.

"Fine."

With that Lisa got up and walked away. Kensei got up and went out to look for the girls so he could explain to Maya, though hopefully Hiyori would have already explained.

* * *

Three blocks away Hiyori finally managed to get Maya to stop running.

"What the heck was that all about?" Hiyori yelled.

"I thought they would want some privacy."

"Maya. That was all Lisa. Kensei usually gets mad at her when she does that."

"Okay you lost me."

"Lisa jumps Kensei on a regular basis. But really it's one sided."

The two girls talked for a while after that. Changing subject regularly but Maya was very withdrawn.

"You still thinking about earlier?" Hiyori asked.

"What? No. I was talking with Hotaru."

"Hotaru?"

"My zanpakuto."

Hiyori nodded and turned back to face forward. Maya regained her distant look.

* * *

Wow, Hiyori and Lisa are way OOC. Sorry about that!


	8. Hotaru's warning

I wrote this in the other chapter but anything written like '_this_' is Maya talking to Hotaru.

* * *

'_Lady Maya are you okay? You seem sort of depressed._' Hotaru asked.

'_It's nothing. I was just shocked.' _Maya replied.

Maya looked around in her inner world. She had mastered being in there while still being aware of her surrounding in the outer world. As usual her inner world was simple a wide expanse of plains though something was different. In the place where Hotaru was hovering in her dragon form over the ground there were now 6 circles in the ground going around her in a circle. Two of these circles now had pillars in them. One pillar was made up of light. The other of darkness and her hollow stood next to it smirking.

'_What's going on? Why are these here?_' Maya asked.

'_Don't tell me you haven't noticed!_' Her hollow sneered. '_Your spiritual signature is changing._'

'_I don't get it. Hotaru?_' Maya asked.

'_She means that soon you will be under going changes in your spiritual pressure. Be careful Lady Maya. These changes are huge steps in your power and will result in your incapacitation for many hours. You should return to shelter before it happens._'

"Okay I have no idea what you're talking about." Maya said.

"What?" Hiyori asked.

"Huh? Oh nothing. I was talking to Hotaru. She keeps giving me this warning but I don't understand it."

"What's she saying?"

"She keeps saying that I'm going to faint because of my spiritual pressure and that I should head back."

"Maybe you should listen. Whenever my zanpakuto warns me about something it usually is a good thing to listen."

'_Please do as she says Lady Maya! Is you become incapacitated here Aizen may come for you!_'

'_As is being in a house would stop him. When he comes for me he will, wether I'm inside or out._'

'_But Lady Maya!_'

Suddenly Hotaru's voice seemed to become fainter. It seemed to fade away in her mind and she felt as if she was weightless. She looked around her and saw nothing but darkness. She was floating in a void.

* * *

Again, I'm really sorry if Hiyori is OOC. I'm also sorry if my chapters are really short.


	9. The first hidden power

Kensei turned a corner in time to see Maya collapse. He ran over to where Hiyori was staring in shock at the crumpled figure of her friend. Kensei picked her up and turned to Hiyori.

"What happened?" Kensei asked.

"I really have no idea. One minute she's fine the next...this."

"Let's take her to Kisuke. Maybe he'll know what to do."

With that that the two headed off towards Kisuke's shop.

* * *

_Meanwhile Maya was still floating in darkness. Suddenly something appeared in front of her. It resembled a large screen and it was showing her the most infuriating parts of her past, only fast forwarded. It showed images of the hollowfication of her friends. Then her time in squad 12 as a test subject for Mayuri. As she watched she felt the helplessness she had felt at the time. She felt rage at her own stupidity and incapability to help herself or her friends. And as those emotions started to bubble up she felt as is she was being consumed by fire. _

_'You should learn to use that fire inside of you.'_

_Maya whirled around to see the shape of a tiger wreathed in flame standing behind her. It was the size of a small pony and gave off an intense heat, like an inferno. It was staring at her with gold/yellow eyes full of patient._

_'Who... are you?' Maya asked. _

_'I am...Dakila.' The tiger replied._

_Maya stared back at it for a few more seconds before shaking her head._

_'So what do you want with me?' Maya asked._

_'I'm here to train you to use the element of fire.'_

_'How is that possible?'_

_'It's something that happened when you hollowfied. By mixing light and darkness together in one person it gave you the capability to use all 6 elements which are the building blocks of reality.' Dakila explained.'You already mastered 2 of them: light and darkness.'_

_'You mean Hotaru and my hollow?'_

_'Yes.'_

_'What are the others?'_

_'That information is not mine to give. If you cannot figure it out then you will discover them as they come to you. But now I must teach you this hidden power of yours.' _

_Maya nodded and took a stance. The tiger sat down and suddenly they were in a large cavern with targets scattered all over. Dakila now stood next to Maya._

_'Try to hit those targets with a fireball. You must focus on that intense feeling of anger and your determination to help your friends. It is the fuel to your fire.'_

_Maya nodded. She focused her energy into her hand and soon a fireball had formed and she shot it at the targets. She had always been good at controlling her spiritual energy, she was known as a master of kido because of it. No incantations or words of any sort needed. Dakila even looked impressed. _

_'Your very good. Let's try something a little harder. Try to control the fireball after you've released it.'_

_Maya nodded again. She created another fireball and shot it towards a target. When the target moved out of the way though she focused her mind on the fireball and a few yards off it turned a zoomed towards the target again, this time destroying it. Once again Dakila seemed impressed. _

_'There is only one last thing I will show you. Focus the fire into your core, compact it, then release it in one huge explosion of fire.'_

_Maya nodded, walked to the center of the cavern to avoid hitting Dakila, then focused on the task given to her. As the energy started to form she compacted it into a tight ball. Then when the energy was becoming dangerously high, she released it all in one blow. When the smoke from the explosion cleared she could see Dakila standing a ways off. Though she felt faint she got up and made her way over. _

_'You've done well. Whoever trained you in controlling your spirit energy did a vert good job. Though I will leave you with this warning: do not use that unless you absolutely have no other choice.' Dakila said. 'Using that technique is exhausting as you've probably already noticed. And it is very destructive. Do not use it close to your friends unless you are certain to be able to prevent it from annihilating them.'_

_'Wakata'_

_And with that everything faded.

* * *

_

Wakata means I understand I think_._


	10. Fear

Maya woke up in one of Kisuke's shop's back rooms. There were curtains pulled over the window and the door was shut tight. She couldn't tell how long she had been out though. She was about to get up when she heard people on the other side of the door.

"Is she going to be okay?" Shinji asked.

"Of course. She's a strong girl. You should have more faith in her." Kensei snapped.

"Of course I have faith in her. She is my daughter."

"No. She's not!"

Maya smiled. This was a lot like when they were all still in the Soul Society. Kensei and Shinji arguing over something that had to do with her. Shinji had always claimed her to be his lost daughter, which had annoyed Kensei to no end. She pulled herself out of her reverie to listen to the rest of the conversation.

"So... what exactly caused this?" Lisa asked.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure but I have a hunch." Kisuke said.

Maya blinked. Had all the vizards come here to see her? She was wondering why but then dismissed it as Shinji having overreacted. She almost laughed.

"So what is this hunch?" Rose asked.

"Well, I have a theory that when Maya was given the powers of a hollow it sort of snapped something in her." Kisuke said.

"And is that good or bad?" Love said

"It really depends on the way you look at it. You see what I think is that when she was given hollow powers there was a sort of reaction in her spiritual energy. After all her power was light and a hollow is basically darkness." Kisuke explained.

"I still don't get it." Hiyori said.

"Gaining hollow power created a reaction in her spiritual energy which ultimately resulted in drastic changes. Ones which give her new power over different things. Of what I can only guess." Kisuke said.

"So basically what you're saying is that she getting new powers?" Hachi asked.

"Yes. Pretty much." Kisuke said.

Maya heard a loud thud and a surprised/horrified gasp from Mashiro. She could already guess what had happened.

"Then why didn't you say so to begin with!?" Hiyori snapped.

"You didn't have to hit him like that." Shinji mumbled.

"Shut it or I'll hit you too!" Hiyori snarled again.

So Maya burst out laughing. She couldn't help it. The mental image of Hiyori slapping Kisuke over the head with her slipper and then threatening to do the same to Shinji was, quite frankly, very funny to her. Though she almost regretted laughing when all 8 of the vizards came in accompanied by Kisuke, who was rubbing his head.

"Maya! My sweet daughter." Shinji yelled throwing himself towards her.

He was almost there when Maya felt her spiritual energy along with her body temperature go through the roof. The second Shinji touched her he flinched away again cradling his hand left hand in his right. When he finally let go of it everyone saw the burns on his hand.

Maya flinched upon seeing the damage she had inflicted. She looked at the ground looking into her mind, asking Dakila exactly what just happened.

'_Dakila? Why was he hurt? I wasn't mad or trying to hurt him._' She asked in her mind.

'_Sorry, I percieved him as a threat. It won't happen again. Not unless you tell me too..._'

Maya was mad for a second before letting it drop. It's not like it was Dakila's fault. He was just trying to keep her safe. She looked around her friends. They were looking at her doubtfully, wondering why she burnt him. She looked at the ground before mumbling an apology.

"It's fine. It's not like you meant to do it." Shinji said. "Kisuke said you were getting new powers and that you wouldn't be able to control them fully right away."

She smiled. Shinj I had always been like that. Forgiving her, even when he shouldn't.

"So I'm guessing your new power is fire?" Shinji said.

"Um... yeah. Hotaru and Dakila, the fire spirit, says there are going to be others." Maya replied.

"Good to know. Now we have to keep you under constant watch." Kensei said.

"No you don't." Maya said.

"Yes. We do." Shinji said.

This was one of those rare times when both Shinji and Kensei were in agreement. When that happened, she almost never won.

"I'm not a child! Why do you treat me as one!?"

Maya was just as surprised by her sudden outburst as everyone else in the room was. She'd never once yelled at Shinji or Kensei, let alone both. She got up but Kensei stepped up to her intent on making her sit back down. He was not about to let her talk to him that way.

"Were worried about you! Is that so bad to you? Aizen would kill for someone with power like that!" He yelled.

"You think I don't know that! He's killed for me before!" She snarled.

That caught everyone off guard. They had no idea up until now that Aizen was after her as well as the Soul Society.

Maya was shaking. She could feel her anger rising and she feared for her friends safety. If she got to mad she was sure she would blow the place up. She got up and sprinted. She practically flew out the door, down the street, past the park and straight to the most isolated and desolate part of town. Even after running for nearly 2 whole hours she kept going. The only thing driving her: fear. She was afraid for her friends. Afraid she would hurt someone again. Afraid of what Aizen would do to them. Afraid of what the Soul Society would do to them if they found them. So, she just kept running until she was in a forest somewhere west of the city.

* * *

Sorry it took so long. My internet crashed.


	11. Captured

All the vizards and Kisuke looked around at each other. None of them could quite figure out what had just happened. One second Kensei and Maya were arguing, the next she was sprinting out the door. After recovering from the shock though they all took off after her.

* * *

Maya kept running until she just collapsed from exhaustion in the middle of a clearing in the woods. She crawled over to one of the trees surrounding the clearing and settled down to rest. For the moment, she thought, she would be safe. That was until she felt a presence above her.

"What the...?"

She looked up just in time to see a garganta closing above her as 2 arrancars jumped at her. She leapt away from her tree towards the middle of the clearing where she drew her zanpakuto and took her stance. She inspected her opponents to see if she could form a strategy.

The first arrancar was very pale with jet black hair, emerald eyes and a mask that looked like a helmet. He wore the standard pants of any arrancar but the back ends of his jacket were very long and trailed on the second had blue hair and eyes and was wearing a mask that followed his jaw. Like the other he wore the standard pants but his jacket was open and only made it to the bottom of his ribs, instead of all the way to his hips.

She stared at them for a while. Wondering what they would do next and hoping that she could hold them off. A slight change in the first arrancar's stance gave her a milliseconds warning before something collided with her zanpakuto and she was sent flying back.

* * *

The vizards picked up the pace as they felt the spiritual pressure of Maya as well as that of 2 arrancar. They sped towards the location where they were fighting praying to get there in time to help her fight them off. All the vizards worried about her. Wondering if she would collapse again during the fight.

* * *

Back with Maya, she was having a harder time fighting them off then she had initially thought. At first, it hadn't been so hard since the 2 arrancar weren't working together. They had attacked her individually making it much easier to fend them off. However when they had teamed up against her she'd started to have trouble, and in her weakened state she wasn't sure she could hold them off for much longer.

Just as the second arrancar was about to strick her she felt the other vizards spiritual pressure. The second that happened she lost her focus and ended up being sent crashing through several tree and landing in another clearing.

"Careful Grimmjow. Aizen wants her alive." The first arrancar warned.

"Oh shut up! What is with you and Aizen? If she isn't coming quietly then we'll take her by force." The one known as Grimmjow responded.

Maya looked up at the two through blurring eyes. She couldn't see very well anymore due to the fact that when she had hit the tree she'd given herself a concussion and a large gash across the back of her head, which was now bleeding into her eyes. Her vision stained red she could just barely see the pale arrancar coming towards her. The last thing she remembered was something hitting the pressure point on her neck and hearing someone calling her name.

* * *

The vizards ran in to the clearing only to see Maya being hoisted onto one of the vizards shoulders. She was unconsious and her zanpakuto was hanging limply from her fingers. The arrancar lept into the air and opened a garganta. They turned and made their way into it, the metalic sound of Maya's zanpakuto hitting the ground ringing in the air.

* * *

Please review!


	12. Planning the rescue

The vizards came to a stop in the middle of the clearing where only a few moments ago they had seen Maya disappear in to a Garganta with 2 arrancar. They had arrived just in time to see the arrancar pick her up and put her over its shoulder then leave with its buddy in to the Garganta. The vizards all looked in between themselves, that is until Mashiro suddenly burst out.

"This is all your fault Kensei! If you had just let her think we were leaving her alone then we could have followed her in secret! You just had to have your way didn't you? Now she's gone and it's all your fault. She probably collapsed from one of those power surge things! I bet Aizen's going to do all sorts of bad things to her-!"

She was cut off by Kensei putting his hand over her mouth to shut her up and give them horrible ideas as to what Aizen would be doing with her. They were all agitated enough without Mashiro getting into the mix. Lowering his hand Kensei turned to Shinji.

"So what now?" He asked.

"We go after her. What else? We can't just leave her to Aizen." Shinji replied.

And so they began to plan how they would get into Hueco Mundo, get to Las noches and save Maya from Aizen.

* * *

In the mean time Aizen was looking over his prize. He looked back at the two arrancar that had brought her and then to Gin and Tousen. Finally he turned to face the two arrancar. He would wait until Maya woke up before starting anything.

"Good work Ulquiorra and Grimmjow." He said.

Ulquiorra bowed and Grimmjow just snorted. They'd been sent to get a weakling in his opinion. After they left Aizen turned to Gin and Tousen.

"What now Sosuke?" Gin asked.

"We wait until she wakes up." Aizen said.

With that they all went to the thrown room to wait, leaving a guard there with the orders to call them the minute she stirs.

* * *

Back with the vizards they had come up with a plan. Or rather Shinji had come up with a very bad plan, Hiyori had hit him over the head and everyone was feeling miserable. That's when Kisuke came in.

"Why the long faces everyone?" He asked cheerful as ever.

"Maya's been taken by Aizen." Hiyori said flatly.

"Oh I see." Kisuke said. "Did you ever consider going to Hueco Mundo to get?"

"Yes. But they would sense us the minute we got there and on top of that how exactly are we going to open a Garganta?" Love said.

"Well, I happen to know how to open a Garganta. As for them sensing you, all you would have to do is wear your masks. Your hollow side's spiritual signature will mask your own." Kisuke said.

The vizards were now currently standing in front of the place Kisuke was planning on opening the Garganta. Not all of them were going however. Kensei, Shinji, Hiyori, Love and Mashiro would be the only ones going. They didn't want to risk being detected so they brought as little people as possible. They put on their masks and jumped in to the Garganta Kisuke had just opened for them. They were engulfed in darkness the second they entered and they focused on making a safe path to Hueco Mundo.

* * *

Review please! :)


	13. The second power

'_Kid... Hey! Kid!_'

_Maya could hear Hotaru's voice echoing around her. She opened her eyes to find she was, once again, in her inner world. She was standing in the middle of the circle ring, like the last time. The only difference was that now there was another pillar. This one was made up of flames and Dakila was standing next to it. _

'_Finally, you got up!_'_ Dakila said._

'_What's going on? Oh! Wait never mind, I was kidnapped by Aizen..._'_ Maya said trailing off._

'_Yes, he has._'_ Hotaru said _'_And now you are in big trouble. Aizen has plans for you. He wants your power. And he he'll do anything to get it._'

'_So what do I do?_'_ She asked._

'_Keep your guard up. That's all you can do for now._'_ Dakila said in his usual gruff voice._

_With that said everything began to fade. The surrounding fields melted away, leaving nothing in its place. She looked back at Hotaru in panic. Hotaru stared back kindly. She understood her masters panic, but this was natural._

'_You have nothing to fear child. Stop fighting._' _Hotaru said before fading along with everything else._

_Maya was left floating in nothingness for a while before images started to flash in front of her eyes, just like the time with Dakila. The only difference was that this time instead of a burning fury she felt cold. She felt cold and detached. The images flashing before became a blur as they showed her times when she had felt depressed, when she'd felt so lonely she thought she could drown in her misery, when she's felt cold and abandoned. _

_She looked around and saw a white wolf staring at her. She was stunned for a second until she realized that the wolf was made of ice. The lines of its body and face were cleanly cut and the eyes that stared back at her, though cold and detached, were as deep and blue as the ocean. Finally, it took a step towards her and its voice came around her. It was, like the rest of the wolf, cold and unfeeling though it still sounded like water in a stream. _

'_Are you prepared?_'_ It asked._

'_Yes, but who are you?_'_ Maya asked._

'_I am Tsuki_'_ The wolf replied. _'_But now, it's time to train pup._'

_With that the darkness slowly began changing. Turning into a large stone cavern with training dummies set up around it. It was much like the one Dakila had brought her to though this one seemed more humid, like the air was packed with as much water as possible. _

_'In this place the oxygen is filled with water. This will make it easier for you to train but keep in mind that it will be more difficult to us your powers in the outside world due to the fact that the air carries less water.' Tsuki said._

_Maya nodded and they got started training. Like with Dakila, Tsuki showed her how to control water at her whim and how to turn it into a weapon. But the wolf also taught her to use her __control over water to slow her bleeding and heal herself. Then Tsuki taught her how to condense the water enough to turn it into ice and taught her to shape the ice and use it how she wanted, wether the make a need or a sword. The wolf, like Dakila, seemed impressed at how fast Maya learned though she seemed to have more difficulty with water and ice. Which was nothing surprising because she had been taught previously how to use her anger but not how to use her loneliness. Finally, the training was done._

_'You have done well pup.' Tsuki said._

_'Great another nickname...' Maya muttered._

_The wolf chuckled under her breathe before turning and beginning to walk away. Just before disappearing she turned back to Maya._

_'Don't forget what I've taught you. You'll need it in the days to come.' _

_And with that, Tsuki was gone and Maya was falling in darkness once again._

She could feel her body coming back to her. Feel the stiffness of lying on a cold floor for hours, the pain in her neck from being knocked out and her last thought before she fully regained consciousness were '_I wonder if the Vizards are looking for me..._'

* * *

Review please!


	14. Aizen's plan

Maya woke to see Gin, Tousen and Aizen standing over her. From what she could see they were in a semi-large room. The window had bars and at the door were two arrancar who emanated power. She dismissed them as Espada. Continuing her inspection she saw that, other then a mattress on the floor farther off, room was bare. Finally, her eyes came back to rest on Aizen and his lackeys. He grinned at her before motioning to someone behind him, probably the guards.

"Close the door." He ordered.

The guards at the door did as they were told and closed the door. The sound bouncing off of the walls with an note of finality. She look back at Aizen to see him looking at her appreciatively. She glared but he didn't seem affected.

"What do you want with me?" She finally asked.

"Well, as you are aware the awakening of your inner-hollow caused a reaction in your body. That reaction is basically changing your power. It's giving you abilities that not many people, perhaps no one, could master. I want that power. Simple as that." Aizen said.

Obviously she didn't like that idea and made to lunge at him. To her surprise she found her hands tied and her zanpakuto gone. She felt panic rising in her. Under normal circumstances, having her zanpakuto taken wouldn't bother her. But since she was dealing with Aizen she has no idea what kind of twisted things he would try to do with Hotaru.

"Where's my zanpakuto?" She snarled.

"Your zanpakuto will be kept with me at all times. Wouldn't want you trying to get away now would we?" He replied.

She glared more, hate and anger rising in her body. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was wondering exactly why he constantly had Gin and Tousen with him if they weren't going to do anything, but that thought was quickly erased when Aizen leaned forward to touch her. However he drew back the moment he touched her, and when she looked at his hand she noticed it was burned. She smirked inwardly before looking back up to see Aizen glaring at her. Then he turned and left but not before calling something over his shoulder.

"You better watch out. Because where as I need you for my plan, those friends of yours are disposable." He sneered.

Before she could reply the door slammed shut behind her and all she could see was darkness. For a second she thought that she had fallen in to one of her comas until she looked up to where the window was and saw light filtering in.

She sighed to herself wondering what exactly she'd done to deserve a life like this.

_'If I ever get out of here, I'm never going to complain about Kensei being overprotective again.'_

And with that thought she fell into a fitful sleep that gave her no rest, only more fears.


	15. Arrival

Maya woke several times after that. Twice because an arrancar came in with food (which she refused), three times simply because she was on the floor and more times because of vague sounds she could hear all around Las Noches. She spent most of her waking hours thinking of plans to escape... and so far, she's only got one solid plan.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Vizards sent to retrieve Maya finally arrived in Hueco Mundo. They all had their masks on like Kisuke had told them. Everyone was focused, even Mashiro. They could all see Las Noches in the distance, and they could tell it was still very very far, so they got moving.

"Shinji?" Love asked.

"Yeah?"

"Why is it so quiet? Shouldn't there be hollows around?"

"Yeah, I was wondering about that... Just keep your guards up."

They all nodded before doubling their pace.

'_You'd better be okay...' _Kensei thought almost out-running the rest of them.

* * *

Maya sat up abruptly. She looked around breathing hard. She'd seen them, Shinji and the others, all coming for her. She'd planted one of her light orbs on Kensei just before she passed out. Basically, what it did was it showed her what was going on around it. She closed and willed them to turn around. She'd get out on her own, she just didn't want them hurt.

Just then the door swung open and an arrancar came in with a tray of food she wouldn't eat. She watched as it put the plate down and left. She sighed.

'_Will this cycle ever end?_' She thought.

She laid back down and closed her eyes waiting for sleep to overcome her again. Maybe she could gather enough energy to send a message through the connection, though she doubted greatly she could. She usually needed Hotaru to help her, and a lot more spiritual energy. She sighed again rolling over.

'_What have I gotten myself into?_' She thought.

'_If you don't like the situation, do something about it!_' A breezy voice snapped in her mind.

For a few seconds, Maya was fully awake again. Then she felt her mental and emotional stress take over, and her mind went fuzzy and darkness took her.

* * *

Sorry it took so long to update. Review!


	16. Escape

Maya was once again floating in the darkness. She could feel something trying to reach her, but it seemed just out of her reach. Like something was blocking whatever it was from reaching her. She could hear little bits of sentences floating around but could hardly make sense of it. Then suddenly everything seemed to clear and the voice reached her for a second.

'_Child....listen...' _The same breezy voice as earlier snapped. '_You must… find... your sword... I can't... reach you... otherwise... Look... Aizen's store room... 5… below you...'_

The end of the message was lost to Maya. She barely caught the last few words. And the parts she did catch made no sense. From what she could gather though, Hotaru was being kept in a store room, that was below her. Now all she had to figure out was what the 5 meant... Just then she heard footsteps coming down the hallway and the accompanying sound of a cart rolling across the floor.

The second the door opened she took her chance. She launched herself at the arrancar, hitting him with a round-house kick and knocking him out. She ran out the door, making sure to take his keys and lock the door. Then she took of towards what she thought was a staircase. Once there she made her way to the next level, checked the room just below hers before running back to the stairs and repeating the process another 4 times before finding the storage room.

She closed the door behind her knowing she only had another 10 minutes before someone got suspicious that the arrancar hadn't come back. She quickly located her sword and ran out the room. Careful to avoid spiritual energy that seemed powerful, she soon found herself outside, running out into the dessert that was Hueco Mundo.

* * *

"Dammit!"

"Jeez Kensei relax would you!" Love yelled at Kensei.

"Well, I can't say I don't understand why he's so frustrated. We've been running for hours and it doesn't seem like we've gotten any closer." Shinji muttered.

They'd been running toward the building for hours and yet they didn't seem like they were getting any closer. It was getting frustrated and some of them were getting tired of using their masks for nothing, even if it did hide their spirit energy. And Mashiro really hadn't been helping with her constant rant about Kensei being a jerk.

"Lets take a break." Love suggested.

"NO!" Both Shinji and Kensei yelled.

"You two are both exhausted and so is everyone else! And since both of you care to much about Maya to think about yourselves or everybody else I have to take charge because otherwise you'll kill all of us!" Love snapped.

The two glared but didn't say anything else, they new it was true anyway. They'd been so focused on getting Maya back they hadn't thought of anything else. But now that Love had brought it up they felt tired. Very tired. Kensei kicked a rock and then sat down.

"Fine. We'll take a break. But only a short one." He growled.

"That's all I ask." Love said before sitting down as well.

* * *

She'd been running for hours and yet the building still seemed right behind her. She was getting nervous. Afraid that someone would come out of Las Noches and throw her back into her cell. She didn't have much energy left, she was relying on Hotaru's strength rfor the time being but even Hotaru didn't have much strength left. And then there was the problem of how exactly she was going to get out of Hueco Mundo and back into the human world.

She suddenly felt a large amount of spiritual energy and heard yelling. Sensing the spiritual energy of an arrancar she quickly hid behind a rock and peered out toward the group. There were 3 sitting a few yards off. She could hardly out their shape but it was obvious that they had a human for with a hollow mask. She was about to get up when something tackled her from behind putting a blade to her throat. She fell forward with a sharp yelp, landing face first in the sand. She looked up again and saw the other 3 moving her way. She closed her eyes and screamed.

* * *

Review please! 


	17. Saviour

Maya screamed. Loud. She thrashed around and kicked as whoever was on her tried, and failed, to get her to hold still. Finally after a few minutes she knocked off the person and scrambled up. As soon as she sat up she saw the fourarrancar. Before she could get up the three arrancar she had seen earlier jumped on her. Screaming she kicked them off. She got up took up a fighting stance pulling out Hotaru.

They lunged at her and she sidestepped them hitting the first one in the back and causing the others to trip over their fallen comrade. They leapt at her again this time throwing punches and kicks. She dodged them, stabbed her sword into the ground and shot a kido spell. She knocked one down but the other 3 jumped towards time she was ready. Summoning what was left of her strength she launched a huge fireball at them. She hit the one she'd knocked to the ground but the others moved out of the way.

* * *

Kensei and Shinji looked up as they heard a scream echo in the air. They stood when a few seconds later a huge kido spell fired off. Without thinking Kensei lunged forward toward the commotion. The others followed when they spotted a huge fireball going up in the air.

"Do you think that was her?" Love asked.

"Without a doubt." Shinji replied.

"I hope you realize, if she's in real trouble we'll never get there in time." Hiyori said.

* * *

Gasping, Maya collapsed, the last of her strength evaporating. The arrancar moved to grab her but suddenly something slashed the first one in half. The other two soon followed. Looking up she managed to glimpse a figure standing in the moon light above her. Four others soon joined it, then she blacked out.

Maya woke up to find five people sitting around a small fire. Four were on the other side of the fire so she couldn't make out their identity. Turning her head to the side she could faintly make out the form of a person sitting cross-legged next to her. She couldn't make the person's face because he was facing away but from the shock of silver hair she knew who it was almost instantly. She reached out weakly and brushed the person's back with her hand.

"Ken-chan?" She whispered.

"I thought I told you not to call me that Firefly."

"And I thought I told you not to call me Firefly."

"Fine then I'll find something else to call you."

They lapsed into silence for a few minutes before Maya broke the silence.

"You're mad aren't you."

"No..." He sighed "At least, not at you..."

"I don't get it. Who are you mad at then?"

"You really are dense aren't you?"

"Who're you calling-"

Kensei cut her off " I'm mad at myself for getting you mad enough to run away. I'm mad at Love for making us stop to rest. And I'm mad at Aizen for screwing up our lives... especially yours. You didn't deserve this."

"Kensei did you hit your head?"

He whirled around angrily. Raising his fist and opening his mouth to yell he suddenly stopped. The look on her face made him both relieved, happy and enraged.

"I so knew you'd do that." She mumbled.

He glowered at her but couldn't stay mad for long.

"And what exactly did you know would happen?" He snapped.

"Nothing!" She chirped.

"Spit it out!"

"I don't like seeing you so serious. I feel like I screwed up and that you and Shinji are disapointed in me..."

"We're not."

"But-!"

"No buts."

"Fine." She huffed.

Sighing he moved closer and pulled her into a sitting position. When she looked around she saw that the other four people were Shinji, Hiyori, Mashiro and Love. They were sitting up against a wall of rock but they had their eyes closed so she couldn't tell if they were awake or not. She looked questioningly at Kensei.

"They're asleep to answer your question." He said.

"Where are we?"

"In a cave somewhere in Hueco Mundo. We're waiting for Kisuke to open a Garganta for us."

She nodded. "How long will that take?"

"Maybe another hour."

"Do you think I have enough time to go back to sleep?"

"Sure. I'll carry you if I have to. You're pretty light, more then before."

"I haven't been eating since I got to Hueco Mundo..."

Kensei sighed but said nothing. He didn't want to start another argument. From now on, she'd could have what she wanted as long as she stayed put. He was drawn from his thoughts when he felt something rest against his shoulder. Looking to his side he noticed Maya had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

"Guess I bored her to sleep..." He mumbled closing his eyes.

"You always were good at getting her to relax."

Kensei jumped at Shinji's voice.

"I thought you were sleeping Shinji."

"Na..."

"What exactly did you mean?"

"Haven't ya ever noticed that she relaxes most 'round you?"

"No."

"Blunt aren't ya?"

"Yup."

"You're such a-"

"Go back to sleep Shinji."

Grumbling, Shinji went back to sleep. Once the Garganta was ready they would be able to get home and Maya would finally be safe.

* * *

Review!


	18. Third power

Maya was floating in darkness. One could guess where this would lead. She felt light as air, relaxed as a person sitting under a tree on a hot summer's day with a cool breeze blowing by. And then it clicked: another power. It didn't matter to her though. She was relaxed, nothing could ruin this...

'_Child... come we must train...'_

… Except training. She closed her eyes content to just ignore the spirit for now. Or at least that was her plan until she was dropped on to the hard ground of her usual "training cave". Looking around she spotted a green feathered bird the size of a grown man standing a few meters away. She sighed getting up.

'_Lemme guess, this time it's going to be wind right?'_ She asked

_'Don't be a smart-aleck.' _The bird mumbled.

_'What kind of training will it be this time? The same as usual?'_

_'It will be if you can guess my name...'_

_'Aoikaze?'_ Nothing. _'Kazegenjuu?' _Nothing. _'I don't know! Fushichou!'_

Wind blasted her from the side and nearly toppled her over. The bird seemed happy that she's found the name so quickly. She sighed. It had been sort of obvious. Looking back she saw the bird staring at her.

_'We gonna train or what?'_ She asked.

Fushichou nodded and the training began. She learned to control the wind and use it similarly to the way Kensei does. She learned how to use the wind to confuse a person into showing an opening and finally Fushichou seemed satisfied. Then like all the times before, Fushichou gave her the key to using a super technique and told her to be careful.

Darkness came in, consuming the cave and then her mind. She woke in a dark room in a warm bed. She looked around not knowing where she was until a door on the side opened to reveal several people standing in the opening.

* * *

Sorry it was so short. BTW Fushichou means pheonix I think...


	19. Surprise

Maya's first reaction was to scream, thinking she was back in Las Noches. She was soon cut off as someone placed a hand over her mouth. She blinked twice seeing Kensei standing in front of her. The other vizards standing in the door way. Taking another look around she realized what she had first thought to be a dark room was in fact one of the back rooms of Kisuke's store.

"Will you be quiet now?" Kensei asked.

She'd forgotten he was there but she nodded anyway.

"How'd I... get here?" She mumbled.

"We went to get you from Hueco Mundo remember."

"I remember that much smartass! How'd I get here, in this room!"

"I carried you."

"You could have woken me up!"

"I tried!"

"Several times." Shinji added. "How are you feeling kiddo?"

"Fine."

"Then give daddy a hug!"

"You're not her dad!" Kensei yelled.

The two then proceeded to argue loudly over Maya... again. Hiyori shook her head before pulling off her slipper and hitting Shinji and Kensei over their heads. Maya smiled, this was her first moment of happiness since Hotaru's warning. She should have known better then to laugh though, Shinji took everything she did personally.

"Maya is so mean to her daddy! She even laughs at me!" He yelled.

And then everyone started yelling. Most didn't even know why but the longer it went on the louder it got until Kisuke came into the room yelling for everyone to shut up and go to bed. Everyone did as told exiting the room and going over to the rooms Kisuke had given them for the night.

* * *

The next morning Maya woke up in a great mood. She went down to the kitchen to prepare some food for everyone before they woke up. Deciding quickly on making bacon and eggs she pulled out the ingredients necessary, a pot and turned on the stove.

"It's really surprising Kisuke has so much food..." Maya mumbled.

She noticed a small radio on the counter above the stove and turned it on lowering the volume so no one else would hear her. A song came on and despite the fact that she didn't know the song she started to sing along.

"I've never gone with the wind

Just let it flow

Let it take me where it wants to go

Til' you opened the door

And there's so much more

I'd never seen it before

I was tryin' to fly but I couldn't find wings

But you came along and changed everything

You lift my feet off the ground

You spin me around

You make me crazier crazier

Feels like I'm falling and I

I'm lost in your eyes

You make me Crazier Crazier Crazier

I watched from a distance as you

Made life your own

Every sky was your own kind of blue

And I wanted to know how that would feel

And you made it so real

You showed me something that I couldn't see

You opened my eyes and you made me believe...

An image flashed through her mind and she abruptly stopped singing. She quickly shut the radio and focused on her work.

"Why'd you stop singing?"

Maya jumped whirling around towards Kensei. She hadn't heard him come down. Her face turned red as she looked at her feet, the stove, the wall, basically anything but him. He shook his head giving her a smile nearly no one got to see. Se turned back to her cooking looking for a distraction and hoping she hadn't burnt anything.

"You didn't answer me."

"What if I don't want to?"

He sighed. She wasn't going to tell him anything and he wasn't about to ruin the good mood of the person who was willingly making breakfast. He'd interrogate her later. So he decided to change the subject.

"You're in an awfully good mood. Making us all breakfast..."

She smiled happy for the change of subject.

"As a matter of fact I am."

"And why would that be?"

"Dunno. Maybe because I'm out of Hueco Mundo. Maybe because you and the others came to save me. Maybe because that was the best sleep I've had for a long time. It could be any of those take your pick."

"So what's cookin'?"

"Bacon and eggs."

The others chose that moment to make their entrance, drawn by the smell. Everyone enjoyed the meal chatting and sometimes yelling until either Kisuke or Tessai would get mad and everyone would shut up for a while before the talk started again.

* * *

After breakfast Maya volunteered to do the dishes and everyone left. Everyone but Kensei. He walked over and stopped next to Maya. Hoping he could get some answers.

"Need some help?" He asked.

"Yeah thanks."

For a while they worked in silence. Maya washing the dishes and Kensei drying them. Finally Kensei was finished drying the last dish. He set it down on the counter turning to look at Maya. She looked up at him questioningly.

"You never did answer my question this morning."

She started. She hoped he would forget about that.

"I just... didn't know the rest of the words..."

"Yeah right! You were doing just fine before!"

She sighed. "Fine you got me. I just... surprised myself..."

She stared at the ground her face going red as the image flashed through her head again. Kensei took a step towards her, out of reflex she took one back. He frowned. He took another step and she did the same. They continued like this until Maya was up against the wall. He set his hands against the wall on either side of her head.

"Exactly what surprised you?"

"I..."

"Yeah?"

She opened her mouth but lost her words. She closed her mouth then tried again. Nothing. He sighed leaning closer to inspect her face. Or that's what he was going to do initially, but he ended up moving closer. They were inches apart when a loud crash echoed around the town. He pulled away from her quickly just as the others came running into the room.

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Sorry that was so cliché... Review! 


	20. Before the storm

The crashing had been going on for a while now, so Shinji had gone to ask Kisuke what was going on. Everyone else was in the kitchen sitting around the table.

"I think that the crash was an alien landing from space!" Mashiro said happily.

"You dunce! There is no such thing as aliens!" Kensei snapped.

"This coming from an exiled Death God…" Lisa said softly.

"She does have a point you know." Love said.

"So what? You think just because she has a point that there are aliens?"

By now Kensei was yelling Mashiro was (fake) crying and everyone was getting more and more agitated, except for Maya who stayed silent next to Kensei. Just then Shinji walked in. Seeing the riot he tried everything to calm them. He looked to her for help so she got up, turned to everyone and whistled… Loud. Everyone stopped screaming and looked at her.

"Thanks Maya." Shinji said.

She nodded and went back to her spot. Kensei watching her the whole way. He doubted anyone but him noticed it but she was constantly zoning out. Just then Shinji started talking and he turned to listen.

" I asked Kisuke what was going on. He said that the real Karakura town has been replaced by a fake one and the Shinigami are going to confront Aizen. From what we can hear it's obviously already started…"

"So what do we do about this?" Kensei asked.

"Well, we do owe Aizen a little visit…"

"Then we're fighting." Love said.

"Well not all of us…" Shinji mumbled. " Kisuke thinks there is a good chance that Maya passes out in the fight…"

"But you can't keep her out of this Shinji." Kensei argued.

"I guess not. I guess she's just going to have to be more careful. And if there's any sign of trouble we'll step in."

With that everyone got up to leave. Maya didn't move though so Kensei waited in the door. After a few minutes of waiting and nothing happening he called her. She looked up sharply as if startled out of her thought.

"Are you coming or are you going to let us beat up Aizen ourselves?" He asked.

"Oh! Sorry I was just thinking…"

"Oh! Thanks for the warning I'm out of here!" He exclaimed making to run off.

"Hey!" She yelled running after him.

She caught up to him not to far away. Everyone was headed back to the warehouse to get their Zanpakuto before the fight. Since she already had hers she followed Kensei up to his room.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked.

"Nothing."

"Nothing doesn't usually distract you this much."

She sighed. Kensei had always seen right through her. He would always know when spmething was up or when she was lying.

'_I can't tell him the truth…'_

'_Oh? And why not?'_ Hotaru asked.

'_I can't exactly tell him I can't get him out of my head. And if I say I'm worried he'll get insulted.'_

She only got a chuckle in response. She sighed again.

' _Guess I'm going to have to tell the truth… or at least part of it…'_

She turned to look at Kensei he had his back turned to her but she could tell he was waiting for her answer. She could also tell he was worried about something as well.

" I guess… I'm just worried someone is going to get hurt." She mumbled.

"Someone will. And that someone's name happens to be Aizen."

"No idiot! I meant one of us!"

He sighed turning to look at her. He walked and bent down a bit to be eye level with her. He wasn't that much taller than her anymore, just a couple of inches but it still seemed like he had to bend down an awful lot just to look her in the eye.

"You know we'll be fine. If anything it's you we're all worried about."

He ruffled her hair and moved back a bit. He grabbed his Zanpakuto from the place he left it next to the door . It was, for once, in its none released state. Motioning for her to follow he left the room and joined the others downstairs. Everyone was ready, now the fight begins.

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Sorry it took so long to update. I'll be posting more often now though. Review please!


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